Construction Site Art: "Walking Men 99" by Maya Barkai

The fence around a construction site in Lower Manhattan served as canvas for artist, Maya Barkai in her work called "Walking Men 99." The site-specific public art installation surrounds the upcoming Four Seasons Hotel, which is currently under construction at Church Street near the World Trade Center site. "Walking Men 99" is a photographic collage of 99 pedestrian traffic light icons collected from around the world. Barkai's project began in 2004, when Mayor Bloomberg initiated replacing the standard traffic light signs with "more pedestrian friendly" symbols. Barkai noticed New York City's pedestrian character, and gradually began photographing different representations of similar icons around the world. The ‘walking man’ is an international celebrity and one of our most recognizable figures, says Maya Barkai “Standardized yet diverse, they commonly show us the safe way of travel". The installation, 500 feet long, features 99 “walking men” printed in life-size scale and stretched along three street façades, starting at 99 Church Street, and continuing on Park Place and Barclay Street. The installation will be on display until January 2011. Born in Jerusalem, Israel, Maya Barkai graduated from the School of Visual Arts. She is now based in New York City.